13 - Friday, July 13, 1990 - North Shore News Clematis provides burst of color POPULAR VINE IS ATTRACTIVE AND EASY TO GROW WITH JUST cause, the clematis is considered to be one of the most attractive of all flowering vines. No other can match its diversity of color and trouble-free reliability. This plant’s sun-huagry nature might suggest it to be suited to more southern climes; but not so. Even more than sun, this beauty requires cool roots and a stable source of moisture. | I would be happy to entertain (and be entertained by) any argu- ments which might present an area other than ours as a more steady supplier of moisture. Plant clematis in deep, rich, well-drained soil; keep the roots shaded and the top growth in six or more hours of sunlight. Top dress with a thin layer cf compost enriched with a small amount of dolomite lime and bone meal when planting. Repeat every fall. These plants should not be allu:ved to become dry, especially during the growing season. Feed young, actively growing plants with a water soluble fertilizer monthly during the growing season. Do not be alarmed if your clematis should wither or wilt immediately after planting. This is a@ common occurrence and the plant usually recovers within six to cight weeks. Once established, it can produce 20 feet of new growth per year, and will require regular pruning to keep it healthy and under control. Mos: of the approximately 250 species of clematis come to us from the Orient. Most are deciduous, there being one evergreen vining variety and a handful of perennial and/or shrubby types. And these are just the species forms; the parents and grand- parents as it were. There are liter- ally thousands of available hybrids offering a huge variety of colors, blooming times and plant habits. As I mentioned, there are far too many species and hybrids for me to list in this article. | will mention some favorites which are considered good and not too dif- over the garden gate ficult to obtain. I will include pruning informa- tion, as this is the most commonly asked question concerning the care of clematis. The evergreen clematis or clematis armandii offers fragrant white flowers in March and April. Its benus of beautiful, dark-green foliage is somewhat reminiscent of the foliage of bamboo. C.a.‘Appleblossom’ is avery fight shell pink and rather difficult to obtain. No pruning required. C.lawsoniani ‘Henryi’ will pro- duce huge, pure white flowers Pleated shades offer variety PLEATED SHADES are one of the newest alternative window treatments being shown today. They give the horizontal appear- ance of mini-blinds, but have the softer look of fabric. The fabric is permanently pleated and the shade pulls up and down just like blinds. Unlike mini-blinds though, pleated shades come in an enormous variety of fabrics, colors and tex- tures. Your choice of fabrics will range from sheet to semi-opaque to opaque (for privacy). Textures consist of weaves, linen looks, woven stripes and satin finishes. There are prints available, such as florals, geometrics and tone-on- tone patterns. Some of the prints have fabric (yardage) to match, so a completely coordinated room can be achieved. Imagine a bedroom with a small floral printed pleated shade on the win- dow, perhaps a solid coordinating fabric for a drapery treatment, dust ruffle and throw pillows and the same floral as the shade for a comforter. The original pleated shades were only available in one sheer knit fabric that was offered in a choice of metallicized backings which would vary the degree of visibility and offer a thermal or solar screen. These are still available, but have been joined by two other backings. The first is a thin beige privacy fabric which can be added to the back of any shade to con- trol visibility and to give a neutral color to the outside of the win- dow. The second is a totally different concept in pleated shades. These are Buette Shades. They look and operate like regular pleated shades except that the neutral liner fabric is melded to the front fabric at alternate fold lines to form a “honeycomb” effect. The supplier claims it has the insulating qualities of a five inch thick brick wall! One of the best features of the pleated shade family is their ver- satility. Geoff Tobiasson with attractive, dark stamens through midsummer. Pruning here should take place immediately after flowering. Clematis montana opens white then fades to pink while ¢.m.rubens is bright pink from the get go. These two are among the most spectacular of spring bloom- ing clematis. They are extremely profuse, fast growing and easy to grow; once again, prune after flowering. In the purple-blues, it is hard to beat c.jackmanii and c.j.‘Superba’ with their large single flowers. Prune them hard (to within 12 to 24 inches of the ground) after they drop their icaves. tf you are looking for a really unusual variety, c.tangutica is hard to beat. It sports a late season display of golden flowers from July to fall. The attractive seed heads which follow the flows are an added bonus. Prune this one hard in fall, after the foliage has dropped. The previously mentionea plants are commonly considered to be species or natural forms. The fol- egis fowing is a list of the hybrids produced by these and other species. ‘Vyvyan Pennell’ is a striking double (might be hard to find), while ‘The President’ has an at- tractive centre stripe on the petals, and ‘Ramona’ is a lovely lavender blue. All requize no pruning. A list of good pinks should in- clude ‘Comtesse De Bouchard’ with its silvery pink hues and ‘Hagley Hybrid’ which is a clear, light pink. Both should be pruned hard after leaves drop. Red varieties are among the most difficult to grow. Look for ‘Ernest Markham,' “Rouge Cardi- nal,’ and ‘Ville de Lyon,’ any of which tooks striking with a blue- grey background. All should be pruned hard late in the fall. Besides the ‘Henryii’ mentioned above, langinosa ‘Candida’ and ‘Mme. Le Coultre,’ with their eight-inch flowers and yellow stamens, are considered by many to be the best for this area. Prun- ing is optional for both of these. Bi-colors, such as ‘Nelly Mosier,’ light rose-lilac with a crimson stripe or the newer ‘Dr. Rupple’ with its darker, richer color, can add great summer color in the garden. Neither of these varieties requires pruning. These vines climb by twisting their leaf staiks around trellises, wire supports, host plants, etc. They will not free-climb sheer walls and the like. 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